Like a Phoenix
by hurricane55
Summary: Harry is trying to get over the death of Cedric and the return of Voldemort. Xavier Dalton is trying to get away from his past. They cross paths after Harry's fourth year. How will this affect the coming war and the lives of both boys... HG, RHr and other
1. My SoCalled Perfect Life

Like A Phoenix: A Harry Potter Fan-Fiction

**Like A Phoenix: A Harry Potter Fan-Fiction**

By hurricane55

**Chapter One: My So-Called Perfect Life**

_AN: The story begins in May of 1994 (the end of Harry's fourth year) and the first few chapters will detail how Xavier (my OC) will go from America to England._

"Brrriiiiinnnggggg!! Brrriiiinnnnnngggggggg!" the alarm clock on the nightstand was going off. Xavier reached over and read the time, 9:00 A.M, and groaned. He really didn't want to get up, but he had to so he could get to breakfast on time. But Xavier just wanted to lie there until at least 11.

"Hey, X… Get your ass out of bed! We've got a game in two hours. And you of all people know how big this game is." Xavier opened his eyes and looked at his roommate and best friend Steve DiAntonio. Steve was short and stocky, with short dark brown hair. He had very dark brown eyes as well, and Xavier could see that Steve was already wearing his Quidditch uniform. Xavier couldn't believe how energetic Steve was, being that it was early on a Saturday morning.

"Wait…. Today's the 23rd? Damn, I really shouldn't have stayed out late last night…" Xavier had completely forgotten about the date. Xavier looked over at the clock, and saw the date: May 23rd. Today was the American Interscholastic Quidditch Final, between the Los Angeles Academy of Magic and the Texas Institute of Magical Studies. Xavier was originally from Boston, but his father and mother had both gone to the Los Angeles academy, and they wanted their son to do the same. Xavier played Chaser for the Quidditch team and Steve was the Seeker. Together, the two friends were hoping to bring the championship back to their school.

Xavier finally summoned the energy to pull himself out of bed, and he walked over to his cabinet and pulled out his blue, gold and silver uniform. Xavier stood 6'1'' and weighed about 175 pounds, most of which was muscle. Xavier worked hard in the gym, and it paid off for him. Xavier pulled on his robes, and looked in the mirror, and tried to pull himself together. His light brown hair was a complete mess, and his blue eyes were missing their usual brightness.

"Steve, I'm heading down to breakfast early before the team and most of the school gets there. Tiffany wanted me to meet her at 9:15." Xavier yelled across the room to Steve before heading out into the hallway.

"Alright, lover boy. Talk to you before we leave for the field." Steve got a joke in before Xavier could get out of earshot, one of Steve's talents that always made Xavier laugh a little.

Xavier walked out into the hallway, and saw that it was deserted. Xavier turned right and sped off towards the elevator. He needed to hurry, cause Tiffany would not be happy if he was late. Unfortunately for Xavier, lateness was a bit of a habit for him and his friends. Just as Xavier reached the elevator, he heard familiar voices coming from just behind him.

"Wonder where Xavier is heading to…"

"Must have a breakfast date. He better not let it last too long…" And Xavier could hear the laughter of his two other closest friends from behind him, James Carter and Scott Murphy. James and Scott were the two Beaters for the team, and they, Xavier and Steve were nearly inseparable. Finally the elevator arrived and Xavier rode down to the first floor of the school, where the dining hall was located. Xavier looked at his watch, and he had four minutes to meet his girlfriend.

Xavier walked out of the elevators and ran down a few hallways, and he reached the dining hall with one minute to spare. He opened the blue double doors and walked in. The familiar room, with many small circular tables and blue chairs, came into view. Xavier scanned the room, and saw the head of long, wavy brown hair that he was looking for. Xavier crept down the aisle between two sets of tables, and he soon was standing right behind his girlfriend. Xavier pecked her on the cheek and sat down next to her, a smile on his face. Xavier couldn't not smile whenever he was with her.

Xavier had met Tiffany Bellarose on the first day of classes back in September. They were assigned seats next to each other in their fifth year Transfiguration class, and Xavier was smitten the minute he sat down and saw her face. If you were to describe her in one word, Tiffany was beautiful. Tall and thin, with a pretty face and soft brown eyes, she had captured Xavier's attention in a heartbeat. Kind, sensitive and funny, Xavier thought she was the perfect girl. Xavier sat down next to her, and she said softly,

"Not hungry? You really need to eat baby…" Xavier's heart skipped a beat whenever she called him baby. Xavier thought his life was perfect. He was a sports star, he had three of the best friends in the world, and to top it all off, he had captured his dream girl.

"You know I'm never hungry before a game…" Xavier responded. The only time that Xavier lost his overly cocky attitude was before a game.

"I really hate it when you're a wreck, you know that… I dealt with this enough during football season, and then Quidditch regular season, but this tournament is just horrible… Look at yourself, you're a mess." Tiffany said with a laugh. Xavier was a two sport athlete at school. In the fall, he was the star running back for the football team and the spring was Quidditch season.

What Xavier found to be cool is that the school football team played in a Muggle league, playing as a school by the name of Wentworth Academy. Xavier had always been in touch with a Muggle lifestyle. His favorite sports team was the Boston Red Sox, he listened to rap and rock music, and one of his most prized possessions was a Super Nintendo. (remember its 1994…)

"Hey Tiffany!" Xavier turned around to hear another familiar voice. Right behind him was Lisa DiAntonio, Steve's kid sister, and Xavier's ex-girlfriend from the year before. When they started dating, Steve flipped out and didn't speak to Xavier until him and Lisa had broke up a month later. But since the breakup was mutual, they remained good friends. Lisa and Tiffany were also best friends, which had made things dicey for Xavier when he had started dating Tiffany. Lisa had been jealous for a few weeks, but she had gotten over it. Lisa was short, but was still very attractive.

When Lisa sat down next to Tiffany, Xavier took the opportunity to leave. He needed to talk strategy with Steve, James and Scott before the game. He pecked Tiffany on the cheek and walked out of the room.

As Xavier got back to his room, the reality that he was playing in the national youth Quidditch game in just a few hours finally hit him. Xavier flopped down onto his bed, where he noticed a piece of paper on the pillow. Noticing it was a note from Steve, he picked it up and began to read.

_X, _

_Meet us outside on the football field as soon as you get this note. The team wants to run through some last minute drills before we have to leave for the game. Don't forget your broom, Romeo._

_Steve, James and Scott_

"A bunch of comedians…" Xavier thought to himself with a chuckle. Xavier looked around his room for a certain picture. And then he found it on top of the television that Xavier had bought so he could play his Nintendo while he was at school. Xavier looked at his favorite picture with a smile. It was him and Tiffany immediately before the school dance in October, a school tradition. Xavier smiled at the memory of their first kiss which had happened later on that night. Sticking that picture in his gym bag, like he always did before a big game, Xavier grabbed his broom, a Nimbus 2000, and his Chasers gloves, before exiting his dorm. Xavier glanced down at his watch again, it was 10:25. They were leaving at noon. So he would have about an hour and a half to get ready for the biggest game of his life. Xavier had been sweating since he had left Tiffany at the breakfast table.

The next two hours passed in a hazy blur for Xavier. He was so damn nervous that he couldn't really take anything in until he walked onto the Quidditch field for the game.

"And the other co-captain for the top seeded Los Angeles Titans, playing Chaser, Number Five, Xavier Dalton!!" The announcer had finished the lineups, and there was a great roar from the crowd, who was anticipating the start of the game. The referee, a massive bald man, called for the captains to meet at the center of the field. Xavier and Steve walked out to meet the Texas captains, who were two of the biggest Quidditch players that Xavier had ever seen.

"You ready?" Steve mumbled so that only Xavier could hear him.

"I've been ready since our first practice." Xavier smiled for the first time in a couple of hours.

"Someone's a little cocky… as usual." Steve fired back quickly before the referee blew the whistle and the game had begun. The Texas team was massive, and tried to use their size to win the game. But Xavier and fellow chasers were just too fast for the Texas team. And James and Scott were more skilled than the stronger Texas beaters, which made that particular position even. But Xavier was in the zone. Ducking and weaving through the Bulls' defense, he scored the first four goals of the game for Los Angeles.

The game was getting out of hand, and quickly. L.A held a 100-20 lead after only ten minutes, and Texas was getting desperate. Xavier was flying down the field when he felt a sudden pain in his right arm. He whipped his head around and saw that one of the Texas beaters had hit him intentionally with his bat. In a fir of rage, Xavier threw the Quaffle as hard as he could at the Beater's head with his left arm, and knocked him off his broom. The crowd and both teams were shocked at what they had just seen. The referee flew over to Xavier and started yelling at the top of his lungs, and he awarded Texas five penalty shots.

"Nice going, hotshot…" Xavier glared at T.J, who he had never gotten along with. Although T.J was a year older than Xavier and Steve, they had been chosen team captains over him, and T.J was very bitter as a result.

"Shut up you ass, the guy fucking broke my right arm with a blatant cheap shot that the ref missed. So go defend the goals and keep this lead." Xavier yelled back, and T.J had no response.

"Steve… I cant really play anymore. I'm going to have to play all left-handed. So we aren't going to score much more. So please find the Snitch fast so we can get out of here with the title…" Xavier could feel the blinding pain set in. He was thinking about giving up for a brief second, but he wanted the trophy so bad, he decided to play through the grievous injury.

But his goal scoring ability was nearly gone, and the Texas chasers were taking advantage. They were piling up the scores, and soon they held a 130-120 lead. But Steve had taken off for the Snitch and it was clear that he had the advantage over the opposition in the race that would decide which team would go home as national champions. Xavier watched the world slow down as Steve caught the Snitch, but was then hit in the back of the head with a Bludger in the same instant. He was over two hundred feet in the air, and the fall would be fatal. Xavier completely forgot about the game they had just won, or his broken right arm. He willed his broom to reach his best friend in time. Steve was a hundred feet from the ground when he came back into sight of the crowd. But it was too late for anyone in the crowd to save him. It was all up to Xavier. In his moment of panic, Xavier forgot about the fact that he had his wand in his back pocket. Steve was twenty five feet from the ground when Xavier reached him. Sticking his left hand out to save his friend, he realized that he didn't have a hand on his broom, and when Xavier caught Steve, he fell off his broom, and the two best friends plummeted to the turf…

"That fucking hurt… Steve! Tell me he's alright!" Xavier opened his eyes and saw three things that broke his heart: The first was the fact that he saw that Tiffany had been crying. The second was that he saw Steve surrounded by his family, and he still hadn't woken up. And the third was that Xavier was wearing a cast on his right arm and his left leg, but Steve didn't appear to have any injuries.

"Tiffany, please tell me he's alright…" Xavier was nearly crying now. His best friend for nearly five years looked like he was dead, "Please tell me that he's still alive."

"Xavier… I'm so, so sorry… He was falling too fast, and you didn't slow him down enough. He's still alive, but the doctors aren't sure if he'll come out of the coma that he is in. They think it could take years, the amount of damage that his body took. You saved his life." Tiffany said slowly to her boyfriend

"I didn't fucking save shit, Tiffany! We both know that! It's all my fault that he's like this. If I wasn't a fucking idiot I would have used my fucking wand and saved my best friend. But I didn't and look at him now…" Xavier was yelling at the top of his lungs, and when he finally got his cool he started sobbing.

"Xavier… don't do this to yourself, please…" Tiffany just wanted him to be okay, but deep down she knew that Xavier would never be the boy she had fallen for again.

"Tiffany… I'm sorry that I yelled at you…" Xavier managed to choke out before the tears and the shaking came back. Tiffany held him tight and kept whispering in his ear, "Shhh… its going to be alright baby…" And then when Xavier had finally calmed himself down, he just sat there and held his girlfriend for hours. It was all he could do…

July 14th, 1994…

"Xavier, please don't do this…" Xavier was standing outside his front door about to get into a taxi. Tiffany was crying and his parents were standing in shock. He had told them all the night before that he was leaving America and going to England for a fresh start at life. The events of May 23rd rattled Xavier's mind so badly he couldn't stay in the country.

"Look, I've made all the arrangements… I'm going to stay with Uncle Richard at his place in Surrey for the rest of the summer, and during the school holidays. And I have already spoken to the headmaster of the best wizarding school in the U.K, and he agreed to take me as a transfer student. I have to do this…"

"Mom, Dad. I'll call you as often as a can… Tiffany…" Xavier's heart broke in two as he watched the tears fall down her cheeks. "Tiffany, I love you with all my heart, but I have to start again in a new place." Xavier kissed her one last time before getting into the taxi. Unknown to Xavier, Tiffany was currently planning to follow him to England. She was willing to follow him to the ends of the Earth, but Xavier had no idea how much she loved him…

_AN: Please read and review. I'm not sure whether I should have Tiffany actually follow Xavier or not, so I think that you the readers could help me decide. So leave a review if you have an opinion, or just to tell me what you think so far of my story. And for those wondering, the canon characters will all make their first appearances in the next two chapters._


	2. Being Alone Isn’t So Bad

Chapter Two: Being Alone Isn't So Bad When You are With Someone Else

**Chapter Two: Being Alone Isn't So Bad When You are With Someone Else**

_AN: Love the reviews so far. Thanks to everyone who sent in a review. They really are the reason that I am going to keep writing. So if you like my story, or don't like it, please send in a review. Now to the story… And sorry for the long time between updates. My computer crashed and I finally fixed it yesterday._

July 23rd, 1994: Surrey, England

Xavier couldn't believe that it had been an entire month since the day that turned his life upside down. To put it quite simply, Xavier was a mess. He no longer cared about his personal appearance, and he no longer felt the need to shower or dress in decent clothes. He just usually lounged around in his uncle's basement, which Xavier had turned into his bedroom. Xavier usually spent his days playing his Super Nintendo or staring at the wall, cursing his fate. Xavier considered going back to the States, but he couldn't bring himself to go back. This was partly because Tiffany was unusually cold to him whenever he called her. Xavier didn't realize how much he had hurt her by leaving her behind

"Xavier, can I talk to you for a minute?" Xavier heard his uncle calling him from upstairs.

"Yeah sure, Uncle Rick. I'll be up in a second…" Xavier called back, and slowly crept up the stairs. Xavier walked into the kitchen where his uncle was preparing lunch for the two of them. Rick was about thirty, and was still a bachelor, although Xavier thought he was a great guy. Rick was basically a more portly Xavier in appearance, except that he had brown eyes instead of Xavier's bright blue. Xavier's uncle was also cheerful and humorous, and Xavier thought of him as a young Santa Claus in personality and looks. This thought process was only enhanced by the fact that Rick didn't shave his beard, and he had a full brown beard, even in the heat of the summer.

"Xavier… I know that you're going through a bloody difficult time right now… But look at yourself in the mirror… You need to move on with your life. Take advantage of the fresh start that you are being given…" Rick was speaking slowly and clearly, not really lecturing his nephew, but trying to save him from his own grief and guilt. Xavier was about to flip out at his uncle when he glimpsed a reflection of himself in the kitchen window, and did not like what he saw.

"God damn, I look hideous…" Xavier said with a laugh. It was the first time he had smiled in nearly a week.

"Now that's more like my nephew!" Rick yelled with enthusiasm, and he clapped Xavier on the back.

"I'm going to clean up a little… Well clean up a lot I guess… and then I'm going to take a long walk outside. I'm starting to lose my Los Angeles tan…" Xavier left the kitchen, and went to take a long hot shower. He got out of the shower, shaved and then got dressed into a pair of nice khaki shorts and a blue polo. Grabbing his Red Sox hat off his bed, he told his uncle that he was leaving and walked out the front door. Xavier took two steps out the door before he realized that he had no idea where he could go. So he just decided to take a right turn, and keep walking straight so he didn't get lost.

Xavier was glad that it was a good day to be outside. It was warm, but not brutally hot, and the sun was shining bright on Xavier. He was glad that he had finally broken out of the nearly dead state that he had been in for the past two weeks. Xavier had been walking down the road for about forty-five minutes, not really thinking about anything at all, when he noticed an abandoned playground. Xavier was starting to get tired, so he figured that he would sit down on an empty swing for a few minutes and then head home for dinner.

Xavier sat down and started to swing very lightly, barely moving. He had been sitting for about two minutes when he heard footsteps coming towards him, and then a soft, sad voice reached him a few seconds after.

"This is the first time this summer that someone else has been here…" Xavier looked up and a short, thin black haired boy was walking towards him, and sat down on the swing next to the one Xavier was on.

"I like to come out here and just think… My name's Harry by the way. Harry Potter." Xavier shook the boy's hand, and noticed three things about him immediately. The first thing was that the boy was wearing old clothes that clearly didn't fit him too well. The second thing was that he had the brightest green eyes that he had ever seen. And the third thing that Xavier noticed was that Harry had a peculiar lightning bolt shaped scar on his head. Xavier was convinced that he wasn't seeing the scar clearly, and he just thought that it was a normal injury with an odd shape.

"I'm Xavier Dalton. And this does look like a good place to sit and think." Xavier responded cheerfully. Both boys sat in silence for a few minutes just thinking. Harry was very surprised at the impression that Xavier made on him. Harry was confused because every Muggle that Harry had ever met had avoided him or made fun of him because of his small size and his ratty clothes. But most wizards were always asking him about his famous scar and didn't really want to get to know Harry for Harry the boy, but Harry the hero. Harry wanted to figure it out, and asked,

"I've never seen you around before… Did you just move here or something?"

"Yeah I just moved here about three weeks ago. From the United States. Just outside a city called Boston. You ever heard of it?" When Harry shook his head no, Xavier continued. "It's a great city. And the best sports team in the world plays there… The Boston Red Sox." Seeing Harry's puzzled face, Xavier asked incredulously, "Wait… You've never heard of the Boston Red Sox… The best baseball team in the world!"

"What's baseball?" Harry asked right away. Xavier couldn't believe what he was hearing, but then he remembered that he was in a different country. And so for the next ten minutes, Xavier happily explained the rules of baseball to a very confused Harry.

"Wow… this is nothing like Quidd…" Harry blurted out. Harry's face went bright red. Harry was hoping that Xavier didn't catch that he almost said Quidditch.

"You play Quidditch?? That means that you are a wizard! Just like me… Awesome. I played chaser for my school in America. What do you play?" Harry was shocked to hear that Xavier knew what Quidditch was. And he was even more shocked that Xavier was a wizard.

"I play Seeker… Where do you go to school?" Harry asked

"I've complete five years at Los Angeles Academy of Magic. But starting in September, I will be transferring to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is that where you go?"

"Yes. I love it there. It's my favorite place in the world… It's this massive castle and there's massive grassy grounds surrounding it, and there's a perfect Quidditch pitch" Harry was thinking about all the fond memories he had of the school as he spoke.

"Sounds great. What year are you in? Cause I spoke to Headmaster Dumbledore, and he wants me to start at fifth year…"

"That's what year I'm in too. But it's O.W.L year so that's going to be really hard." Harry knew about the O.W.L's mainly because Hermione had been freaking out about them since the end of third year.

"Damn… test year… I was hoping to avoid that. Because the American O.W.L's are after sixth year… But I guess that's why I got held back a year. So I didn't miss my fun and exciting tests…" Xavier said with a laugh. "Say… Why don't you come and have dinner with me and my uncle tonight. He's making really good fish and chips tonight."

Harry was starving because he was malnourished at the Dursleys. And since he also wanted to get to know Xavier better, he agreed to go, and the two boys started off for Xavier's house. Their conversation stayed with school, until Harry remembered something important, and said to Xavier,

"Were you planning at playing Quiddtich next year? Because if you are in my house, we already have three returning Chasers, but two of them are leaving after this year so there will be a spot for you next year…" Harry said amicably, but he didn't notice the horrible look that spread across Xavier's face, because he turned away from Harry as soon as the emotions rolling around inside him started coming to the surface. The guilt that he felt for failing to save his best friend, and the fact that he left the girl he loved, almost made him cry.

"That's alright. I didn't play on playing Quidditch anyway. My team won the American title this year anyway so I wanted to go out on top, you know…" Xavier managed to fake a laugh. He thought he had always been a good actor and a good liar, and he was pulling both on Harry, who bought it hook, line and sinker.

"That's very true. My old captain always spoke about that. And you won a national title? Wow that's bloody brilliant…" As he said this, Harry noticed Xavier pull a large gold metal out of his black warm up jacket and hold it up. Harry read it out loud… "American Interscholastic Quidditch Tournament National Champion: Xavier Matthew Dalton, Chaser, Los Angeles Academy of Magic Titans…" and then Harry noticed the small inscription at the bottom, "_Chaser of the Tournament: 54 goals, 39 assists_" Harry didn't know that Xavier was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as well. But Xavier had laid that trophy on Steve's bedside table the night before he left. But Xavier wasn't about to tell that story to anyone. In fact, Xavier had crossed out his own name and position on the award, and carved Steve's name and position and statistics on the trophy instead.

"Wow. That's impressive…" Harry said with a laugh, which brought Xavier out of his miserable flashback. "I might just have to get you to play again. Assuming you're in my house. Otherwise, please don't play again…" Harry was laughing loudly when he said this, and even Xavier couldn't help but smile, even with all the painful memories that Quidditch brought to him.

"Harry, what's the deal with the houses that you keep mentioning?" Xavier had realized that he had no idea that Harry was talking about when he said "his house."

"Oh yeah…" Harry started. "When Hogwarts was formed, there were four founders. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. These were the four greatest British wizards of the era. And they each left a house behind that was modeled on what they considered important. Gryffindor treasured bravery, Hufflepuff loyalty, Ravenclaw intelligence, and Slytherin cunning. And all four put a bit of magic into a hat, which a new student will put on, and the hat will decide which house is best for the new student. I am in Gryffindor, and that's where my parents were as well." Harry said this last part with pride

"I guess I sound like either a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff then…" Xavier was thinking out loud.

"Both of those are very good houses. The only bad one is Slytherin…" Now it was Harry's turn to think out loud. Xavier was about to ask why when they reached his uncle's house. Xavier and Harry walked in, and Xavier called out to his uncle, who was frying fish in the kitchen,

"Uncle Rick, I'm home. And I brought a friend over for dinner. And don't worry, he's one of us…" Xavier knew that his uncle would panic if Xavier had brought a Muggle home because there were moving pictures and magical gadgets all over the house. Harry was looking around the house, and he noticed that it was a great place to just hang out. As Harry noticed that there were many Muggle luxuries as well as those of the wizarding variety, Harry saw Xavier's uncle come into the room. For half a second, Harry thought he was looking at his uncle Vernon. But then he noticed the beard, the jolly face, and the grin on Rick's face.

"Mr. Dalton. I'm Harry. Nice to meet you." Harry introduced himself. Rick and Harry shook hands, and Rick whispered to Harry while Xavier was putting his jacket into the hall closet.

"Does Xavier know who you are?" When Harry shook his head no, Rick smiled and said loudly,

"Alright boys, dinner's ready!" Rick, Xavier and Harry quickly ate all of the food. Harry thought that it was nearly as good as Hogwarts and Burrow food, and it was definitely better than anything that the Dursleys would feed him. Meanwhile, Xavier was eating more than usual because he hadn't been eating normally since he had come to England. And his uncle was just glad to see that Xavier was finally seeming to snap out of the depression that had gripped him since he had arrived. Harry stayed at the Dalton house for a few hours after dinner, and he was really happy that he found a friend to spend time with until he went back to school. That alone would make his time on Privet Drive nearly bearable. The next three days, Harry spent a lot of time with Xavier to get away from his aunt, uncle and cousin.

But then Harry completely dropped out of contact for a week. Xavier was starting to get worried about Harry when a snowy white owl flew through an open window one night. Landing on Xavier's lap, she allowed Xavier to untie the letter attached to her leg before flying off back into the night. Xavier slowly opened the letter, not knowing who would send him a letter by owl. Tiffany would call him, even though she never called anymore. His parents would call him, but his mom always cried on the phone, so Xavier couldn't bear to talk to her. James and Scott would call him, even though they mostly just yelled at him to get his ass back home. So Xavier wasn't that disappointed that he was getting a letter and not a phone call. Finally picking his letter open, Xavier read the letter to himself slowly, and a smile quickly came to his face.

_Xavier,_

_Sorry about not telling you, but I had to leave Surrey for the summer._

_I had some things to take care of. Come to Diagon Alley on the 25__th_

_That's when I'm going shopping for my school supplies. _

_And there's some people that I want you to meet that day._

_See you then,_

_Harry Potter_

Xavier had thought there was something mysterious about Harry since the day he had met him, and the letter quickly confirmed Xavier's suspicions. Xavier looked at his Boston Red Sox 1994 calendar and saw that it was August 22nd. Xavier got up off the leather couch in the basement, pulled on some sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and ran upstairs looking for his uncle. Not seeing him in the kitchen, Xavier yelled up the spiral staircase that led to his uncle's bedroom.

"What's up, Xavier?" His uncle yelled down from the top of the stairs.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to Diagon Alley with me in three days. Cause Harry is going that day and he wants me to meet him there cause he had to leave Surrey for the summer!" Xavier was yelling rapidly at the top of his lungs.

"Lets see… That's a Monday right? Yes it is… I have the day off, and that sounds good to me. Have you gotten your books list yet?"

"Yep." Xavier answered "And my parents wired me plenty of money at Gringotts." Xavier quickly added. Xavier's parents had sent him more than enough money to pay for anything that he could possibly need while he was in England, but they hadn't told him just how much they had actually sent because they wanted him to manage it carefully.

"All right then. That will be our first stop, so we'll have to leave early in the morning then. Like 8:00. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" Xavier said with a laugh. The next two days for Xavier were spent driving around England with his uncle, who wanted to give him a tour of the country before he left for Hogwarts on the first of September. They drove to London and saw all the sights in the country's capital, then they went to Manchester and saw a Manchester United Champions League soccer game against FC Barcelona, which Man U won on a last second penalty kick by their captain. Xavier was surprised on how exciting a game with so little scoring or contact could be. But nonetheless, he decided that he was a fan, and he asked his uncle to update him on the team's success while he was at school. The next day, they went to the coast and also Xavier got his first taste of English pub food, which he thought was almost the best food he had ever tasted.

"Time to go, Xavier! You better be awake at least" His uncle called down to the basement. Xavier had in fact woken up early, and was already dressed. Wearing frayed cargo shorts, a gray polo shirt and his white Nike sneakers, Xavier ran up the stairs two at a time and almost ran into his uncle, who just laughed and said,

"Someone's a little excited to go, I guess. Grap my hand and I'll apparate us to the entrance to the alley." Xavier didn't like this method of travel, but it was the quickest so he complied, and after the trip, he was confused that he was standing inside a small, old pub.

"Hullo, Tom." Rick said to the barman who nodded and asked who Xavier was. "Oh, this is my nephew Xavier. Xavier, this is Tom, barman at the Leaky Cauldron." Xavier and Tom shook hands before Rick said that they were just passing through, and he took Xavier into the alleyway out behind the bar.

"Now Xavier…" Rick smiled at Xavier's really confused look and pulled out his wand before continuing. "Watch very, very closely. To get into Diagon Alley, you have to tap three bricks on the wall." Xavier watched very closely as his uncle tapped each brick, and then Xavier was shocked to see that the wall was falling away brick by brick. He was immeadley marveled by what he saw looking into the alley, wizarding shops and vendors as far as he could see. And at the end of the alley, he saw a massive stone building with massive dragon statues outside.

"That's the Gringotts bank. And that's our first stop…" Rick noticed the awed look on his nephew's face looking at the massive structure.

"That's a bit more impressive than the branches in Boston and Los Angeles…" Xavier recalled the small brick buildings that served as the wizarding banks in America. Xavier was so thunderstruck by the alley that he barely noticed walking up the stairs, and entering the bank. He noticed that there was only two wizards ahead of him in line, and so he waited for a few minutes. This gave him a chance to look around at the stone and the tile architecture all around him. When it was his chance, Xavier stepped up to the counter.

"Hello sir. I'd like to go to my vault please. My name is Xavier Dalton, and I have my key right here." Xavier pulled the massive bronze key out of his pocket and handed it to the goblin working at the desk.

"Vault 1012… Very well, hop in the cart." Xavier got into the mine cart, and looked at his uncle, who told him that he was going to his vault as well, so wouldn't be joining Xavier for the trip. Xavier enjoyed the ride, because it reminded him of flying, but then the thought of flying hit home, and he felt the pain and sadness starting to come back again. Thankfully he didn't have much of a chance to dwell on it because the cart came to a stop and the goblin opened the door to the small room. Xavier expected to see a small pile of gold Galleons and a few Knuts and Sickles. But instead he saw great mounds of all three coins.

"Are you sure that this is my vault? I didn't have this much money and my parents only gave me enough for my books…" Xavier questioned the goblin, who quickly responded.

"Actually, Mr. Dalton, your parents wired you 10,000 Galleons, which they asked us to convert 1000 of into Sickles and 1000 into Knuts. So your account here is valued at 10,576 Galleons, 9 Sickles and 12 Knuts. Xavier thanked the goblin for the information and quickly grabbed enough money to fill his pouch to the brim. Xavier then thought of an excellent idea and said to the goblin.

"I don't need all this money right now… Is there any way that I can have Gringotts invest a portion of my account?"

"Why, yes there is. Us Gringotts goblins are quite excellent at investing in both Wizarding and Muggle ventures. However, this skill comes at a price. It will cost you fifteen percent of your profits each year, which we will automatically take out of your account each month. We will also send you a detailed statement each month on your current portfolio." Xavier thought about it, and realized that it was a great opportunity and responded after a minute of thinking,

"That sounds agreeable. I would like to invest 5,000 Gallons then. Is that a good amount?"

"That was actually the amount I would have suggested to you." The goblin said with a hint of surprise in his voice in the smart decisions that the young boy next to him was making. But what the goblin didn't know was that Xavier's father was an investment banker, and that he had taught Xavier good money management. The goblin, whose name was Axefall, brought Xavier up to an office, where the boy signed a contract, which gave Axefall the 5000 Galleons to invest, and 15 percent of Xavier's total profits each month. Xavier then walked out of the bank with his uncle, and they decided to go and pick up Xavier's books before looking in any of the other stores. Xavier was about to enter the book store when he heard a familiar voice.

"Xavier! I'm glad I didn't miss you today!" Harry was walking across the road with a crowd of people who Xavier guessed were his friends and their families. Harry had told Xavier about how he lived with his aunt and uncle because his parents had died, and how his aunt and uncle had no interest in magic.

"Hey, Harry. What's up? What's with all the people?"

"Oh… right. Introductions." Harry said with a laugh. "The redheaded boy is my best mate Ron Weasley. The brown haired girl on his left is Hermione Granger. The girl next to her is Ron's younger sister Ginny. And behind them are Ron's parents. And the large man behind them is Rubeus Hagrid, a teacher at school. Everyone this is Xavier, who is staying with his uncle near Privet Drive." Xavier said hello to the entire group and introduced his uncle to everyone. The rest of the shopping trip passed in a blur for Xavier, who was seeing everything for the first time. Harry, Ron and Hermione were introducing him to nearly everyone they saw, including Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas. Xavier also met Draco Malfoy for the first time, and the Slytherin boy mocked Xavier for being American. Ron and Harry had to hold Xavier back, as their rival was hitting a sore spot because Malfoy called Xavier a coward because he was American. This hit Xavier particularly hard because Tiffany had called him that for leaving in the first place. But Xavier enjoyed most of the day, and he also bought a large black owl that he named James. He also went home knowing that he wanted to join his new friends in Gryffindor house, but he wouldn't know his fate until he was sorted at the Welcoming Feast.


	3. Back to School Surprise

**Chapter Three: Back to School Surprise**

_AN: Sorry about taking a long time to update… again. But I didn't really have much time this past week._

The next week was a week of packing and getting ready for school for Xavier. He was sad that he couldn't bring his Super Nintendo to school, but he was so excited to go to Hogwarts that he didn't even try to pack it anyway. He had also been to Grimmauld Place a few times for lunch. Xavier was told nothing about the Order of the Phoenix, and everyone made sure that he didn't find any secrets out. And before he knew it, Xavier was sitting in a train compartment with Harry, Ginny and Neville. Neville was talking about his new plant, Ginny and Harry were both pretending to be interested, and Xavier was staring out the window, just watching the English countryside go by. He was interrupted from his sightseeing by Harry cursing loudly. Xavier turned around and noticed that he was covered in some sort of goo. Xavier laughed for a second at Harry's misfortune before pulling out his wand and, with Ginny's help, cleaning Harry off. Before Harry could thank either of them, the door to the compartment opened and in walked Cho Chang, the girl that Harry had been crushing on for over a year. She threw her long silky black hair back into place behind her ear after closing the door, and she looked right at Xavier with a confused look.

"Hi, Harry." She said quickly. "Who's the new guy?" Cho asked him after looking Xavier over and making sure that she didn't know him at all

"Xavier Dalton." Xavier answered before Harry could respond. Harry was still trying to formulate a coherent thought. "I just moved to England from the United States, and I am transferring to Hogwarts." Cho smiled at Xavier, and Harry was starting to get worried now. He noticed that Cho was giving the same smile to Xavier that she had given to her former boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, during most of the last school year.

"How was your summer, Cho?" Harry asked before Cho could respond to Xavier, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say. Cho's summer had been about as bad as Harry's and Xavier's had each been, although Xavier had no idea about that. Cho's eyes began to water, and she muttered something about having to meet her other friends before quickly leaving the compartment.

"Cute girl. But what was with the whole deal about her running out of the compartment after you asked about her summer?" Xavier asked Harry as they both watched Cho run down the hallway.

"Her boyfriend died in an accident last June. And I was standing next to him when he died." Harry said slowly, his face a combination of anger and grief.

"I had no idea. I'm sorry that you had to see that." Xavier had no idea what to say, but he could at least understand what Harry was going through, as he was dealing with similar demons himself.

"I wish I could just say the right thing to her… Whenever I talk to her, I either make her cry or I embarrass myself… I'm a bloody idiot…" Harry was mumbling to himself, but both Xavier and Ginny heard him. Neither of the boys noticed the brief look of sadness cross Ginny's face because Harry put his head down, and Xavier was looking out the window deep in thought. The entire compartment was silent for a minute or two, before Xavier tried to cheer Harry up.

"It's not really that hard to say the right thing to a girl." Xavier laughed. "You just have to be confident…"

"Easy for you to say." Harry mumbled angrily. "From what I've noticed you do a decent job without really saying anything." Xavier then knew that Harry was referencing the warm smile that he had gotten from Cho after one sentence.

"You know why it's so easy for me to talk to every girl I see?" Xavier asked Harry. Without giving him a chance to respond, Xavier continued. "It's because I'm already taken." Seeing the look of extreme relief on Harry's face, Xavier smiled before saying, "You have no idea how hard it was for me to talk to her when we first met. I would sweat bullets whenever I tried to talk to her. So when you really like someone, its only natural that you get nervous when you are around them. So don't be self-conscious about it, and just try to relax. It worked for me…" Xavier stopped talking as he started thinking about all the good memories that he and Tiffany shared together.

"Hmm… That's interesting…" Harry was thinking about his new friend's advice. But then an important question came to him. "What's her name?"

"Tiffany…" Xavier mumbled, and didn't even notice that Harry was still talking to him. Xavier was thinking about when he told her that he was leaving.

Flashback:

_Xavier walked into the bedroom, and laughed. It was the first time that he had ever been in Tiffany's room. He looked around and saw that her room was not quite what he had expected. The ceiling of the room was sky blue, and all the walls were pink. And covering the walls were posters and pictures of various celebrities, both magical and Muggle. But Xavier was only focused on one picture. A picture that almost made him cry. Xavier walked over to it, almost in a trance. He looked at it and saw his own smiling face looking back at him. It was a few minutes after the semi-final Quidditch game, and Xavier and Steve were laughing together, Steve holding the Snitch, and Xavier holding the Quaffle. Xavier was holding Tiffany, and standing next to Steve was his younger sister. The two boys were still dirty, and Steve was bleeding from a gash on his arm, caused by a Bludger early in the game._

_"Xavier! Xavier? What did you have to tell me that was so important?" Xavier turned away from the picture and looked at his girlfriend._

_"I just have to say a few things. Since I've been having a really hard time since the game, I'm making a few life changes. I'm quitting Quidditch and football. They bring back too many memories that I can't handle right now."_

_"You don't have to do this… No one blames you for what happened. And I know that Steve wouldn't want you to do this."_

_"No one knows what Steve wants, because I messed up. And one person does blame me. I do. And I can't deal with it."_

_"Come here and sit down…" Xavier walked over and sat down next to Tiffany on her bed, and then she continued talking. "Look… Xavier… everyone is having a hard time right now. James and Scott are almost as depressed as you. And Lisa is a wreck. And I'm sure that Steve's parents aren't dealing with it too well. But none of them are letting grief ruin their lives, and you can't either."_

_"I'm not letting grief ruin my life… It's the guilt that's going to kill me. For nearly six years, Steve always had my back. And when he needed me most, I failed him. That's what I can't deal with. The simple fact that I let down my best friend. And that is why I'm leaving in five days."_

_Wait… What? Leaving? Going where?" Tiffany was yelling now, and that wasn't making it any easier for Xavier to say what he was about to say._

_"I'm leaving the country. I'm going to England to live with my uncle. And I'm going to school over there next year. That's what I wanted to tell you."_

_"You… You coward! Leaving your problems behind, leaving your friends behind. Leaving me behind! I thought you were better than this. I guess not."_

_"If that's what you really think of me… I'll just be going now…" Xavier stood up, and as he was walking out the door, he said the only thing he could. "I'll miss you." He said before running out of her house, and walking home in the pouring rain…_

End Flashback.

"Xavier! Are you alright?" Harry was waving his hand in front of Xavier's face.

"Yeah… I'm fine. I was just thinking…"

"Well, you didn't respond to anyone in the car for about ten minutes. And by the way, Ron and Hermione are here now."

"Oh, hey Ron. Hey, Hermione. How was your prefect meeting?" Xavier felt stupid because everyone was staring at him.

"It was fine." Hermione answered.

"Fine? It was bloody boring!" Ron added, and Xavier and Harry laughed at the glare that Hermione gave Ron as a response to his comment. The compartment door opened, and the least favorite person of nearly everyone in the room stepped in, followed by his two cronies.

"What's a train ride without a quick visit to Potty, Weasel and the Mudblood?" Draco Malfoy spoke with a sneer on his face, and Crabbe and Goyle laughed slowly behind him.

"Why are you even here? It's pretty clear that no one in here likes you, and you aren't exactly a nice guy who we would want to make friends with." Xavier stood up. He was still mad about his first meeting with the blond boy standing across from him.

"No need to loose your temper now. You're a lot like the Weasel…" Malfoy took a step back, and Crabbe and Goyle clenched their fists, and took steps forward, putting Malfoy behind their protection.

"Jesus, you're a coward." Xavier said with a laugh, and Ron and Harry smiled at him. Hermione was chewing her nails and looking nervously at the situation. "I don't have time for this right now, so just do us all a favor and leave…" Xavier sat back down, and Hermione breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Potty, Weasel, Mudblood. Take care of your angry American friend." Malfoy said as he left the compartment, and Crabbe and Goyle glared at the group before stepping out behind their leader.

"I've only talked to him twice, but I really hate that Malfoy prick already…" Xavier was still staring out the door, which he stood up and closed before returning back to his seat.

"You know, Xavier… You are really good at making friends with the Slytherins…" Ron couldn't hold back the smile as he mentioned this to the group. They all got to laughing and talking and just having a good time for the rest of the ride. And before they knew it, the train was pulling into Hogsmeade station. Xavier stepped off the train and looked with wonder at the surroundings. He had never seen a village that was entirely wizarding before, and he was shocked to see people walking down the streets holding brooms or talking openly about spells, potions or Quidditch. Xavier looked into the windows of the stores and the bars that he could see, and he saw butterbeer and firewhiskey everywhere he looked. But his two favorite stores that he saw as he was walking off the train platform were the joke shop and the candy store. Xavier asked Harry about them and he learned that the joke store was called Zonko's, and that the candy store was called Honeydukes. Harry also told Xavier about the secret passage that he had used to get to the candy store during third year. Xavier was surprised because he didn't expect Harry to be that much of a rule breaker. Xavier thought that Harry played by the rules, and he was surprised to hear that he would sneak off the Hogwarts grounds.

Xavier jumped onto a carriage with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and a girl named Luna Lovegood. Xavier thought she was a nice girl, but he noticed that she was a little crazy. Xavier really didn't mind, because Luna entertained him and made him laugh. As the carriage made its way up to the school, Xavier took his first look at the castle of Hogwarts. The first thing that he noticed about the school was that the castle was massive compared to any of the buildings at his old school. Since he went to school in the middle of the city, all of the buildings were small and were designed to look like older Muggle buildings on the outside. Xavier looked out onto the grounds and thought that they would be perfect for just hanging out on a nice, sunny day. He saw that the grass was green, and in the middle of the grounds was a large, dark blue lake. Xavier turned his head away from the lake and looked out towards the back of the castle. He saw the colored towers and sprawling bleachers and the large, golden hoops of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Xavier couldn't help but smile at the pitch before the sadness about his last game set in. But Xavier did notice the beauty of the pitch, and for a brief second he imagined himself streaking towards one of the goals, Quaffle in hand. But then Xavier thought of the celebrations that he had shared with Steve, James, and Scott after scoring and winning games, and the thought of playing Quidditch at Hogwarts was quickly put to rest.

"So, Xavier. What do you think of Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I like the castle, and I really like the grounds, how big and open they are. And the lake is cool too. And the Quidditch pitch is nice too." Xavier responded. "See, my old school was in the middle of the city. So we had to go from building to building to change classes. And the dormitories and the dining hall were in another building. And our Quidditch pitch was inside, which kinda limited the game. So I really like Hogwarts so far." He added.

"Are you nervous about which house you are going to be sorted into?" Ron asked.

"Not really. Sure, I'd like to be in Gryffindor with all of you. But if I end up in Ravenclaw, I'll have Luna to keep me company. And I'll have a good time wherever I go, maybe not as much in Slytherin…" Xavier said with an easygoing smile on his face. Ron was trying to hold back a laugh because he was imaging the cool, slick Xavier being good friends with Luna, who was almost the exact opposite of Xavier. Ginny was smiling at Xavier because she was glad that someone else at the school was taking a liking to Luna.

The group walked up to the entrance of the school, when they were stopped by Professor McGonagall. She tapped Xavier on the shoulder, and he whipped around to face the older woman.

"Mr. Dalton. Nice to see you again." She said quickly. "Since you are a new student here at Hogwarts, you must be sorted into a house. Have you heard anything about this from your new friends?" She asked him.

"I've heard about the houses, but I haven't learned about how the sorting actually works, Professor." Xavier responded, and Harry realized that he had forgotten to tell his friend about the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall then proceeded to explain the concept of the sorting Hat to Xavier, who was skeptical. When the professor walked away, Xavier turned to Harry and said,

"Wait… so let me get this straight. An old, talking hat tells me which house I am supposed to be in…"

"That's pretty much it." Harry responded. And before he knew it, Xavier was sitting on a stool in the middle of the Great Hall, in front of all the students, with an old tattered hat sitting on his head. And to his shock and surprise, Xavier could hear the hat talking in his head.

"Ahhh, you must be one of the exchange students this year. You are an interesting case…" The hat started to talk in a deep, but quiet voice. "I see that you are loyal to your friends, but often leave when things are at their worst. You have courage in some aspects in your life, but not others. You have a keen intellect, but I can sense that you choose not to use it as much as you could. And you do have cunning, but you don't use it for your own gain, but for the gain of everyone that you care for. I could put you in any of the houses."

At this point, Xavier realized that he could talk to the hat inside his head, and he said, "Which house do you think would be best for me?"

The hat was silent for a moment, before saying in a booming voice that echoed throughout the entire hall, "_GRYFFINDOR!" _ And in Xavier's head before he took off the hat, it added, "I could see that this is what you wanted, and I think it would be a good fit for you." Xavier thanked the hat, laughed at himself after realizing that he had just conversed with a hat, and sat down next to Harry and Ron at the cheering Gryffindor table. Xavier was a little embarrassed that everyone was cheering for him, but took it in stride, realizing that it must be a school tradition or something like that.

Then all of the first years came into the hall, and Xavier saw that they were about to put the hat on as well. Xavier noticed that they were all petrified about the process, and one by one they were slowly sorted into their houses. After the first couple of new Gryffindors were sorted, Xavier realized that he was supposed to cheer all of the newcomers, and for the rest of the process he joined his new housemates in cheering for any first year that was put into their house. After the last child was sorted into Hufflepuff house, Xavier saw that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was about to speak.

"Welcome everyone, back to another year at Hogwarts. One important announcement before we all eat. This year, we are going to have two new students coming to our school from America." Xavier was shocked. He hadn't seen another older student being sorted yet. "As you all saw, the first student was Xavier Dalton, who will be a fifth year Gryffindor this year. The second student will be arriving shortly, because…" The headmaster was interrupted by the opening of the doors of the hall, and Xavier almost fainted when he saw who walked in.

"No way… I'm dreaming or something… This is not happening…" He said before he lost all rational thought.

_AN: The first cliffhanger of the story… And I have decided who the other person is… But you will just have to keep reading to find out._


	4. Fights and the First Class

**Chapter Four: Fights and the First Class**

_**AN: Sorry about the delay… my internet was down for a few days. Here's the next chapter… finally… Reviews are appreciated, as always.**_

"Xavier, what's going on? Do you know her or something?" Harry was looking at the girl who was walking towards Professor Dumbledore. Harry took a long look at her. He couldn't help but stare at the girl as she walked down the aisle, followed by nearly every eye in the entire school.

"Know her?!" Xavier yelled so that almost the entire Gryffindor table heard him. "That's my girl, Harry! She must have followed me here!" Xavier was so happy to see her that it was talking all of his self-control not to run over to her. He had missed her nearly everyday since he had left America. Xavier still couldn't believe that she was here, and he didn't notice that she was being sorted as well. Xavier was trying to figure out what to do or what to say, and he was completely oblivious to the world around him until he heard the hat yell "GRYFFINDOR!"

Xavier was thrilled that not only was Tiffany here with him in England, but that they would be in the same house. Xavier watched her walk down to the other end of the table and sit down at the only open seat and start talking to a group of girls. Xavier thought that she looked more beautiful than she ever had before. He thought that was mainly because he hadn't spent time with her in about two months. The truth was that she was near the breaking point, because the grief of Steve's accident and Xavier leaving had been eating away at the cheerful girl that she had been before. For Xavier, the opening feast passed in an instant, and he barely ate at all, preferring to stare down the table at his girlfriend. But he did notice how good the food was, and also how loud and cheerful the atmosphere around him was. As soon as Professor Dumbledore had given his closing speech, and a short, fat woman named Professor Umbridge had given a speech as well, Xavier sprinted down the aisle between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw tables chasing after her. Ignoring Ron and Harry's calls to slow down and to get the password to the tower, Xavier kept running until he reached Tiffany and his sneakers skidded to a stop on the marble floor when he was in front of her.

"I really missed you… How have you been?" Xavier realized that his first words were lame almost immediately after he said them. His face started to turn red, and the fact that Tiffany was sending him a look of pure rage didn't exactly help.

"How have I been? How have I been!" She was yelling, and her voice echoed down the hallway. Xavier cringed, because she was the only person that he feared the anger of. "I'm sure you've been just fine! Having fun with your new friends! I don't think you've even thought of anyone back home after you left!" This last comment hurt Xavier deep, because it was simply not true, and he interrupted her.

"That's not true, I've thought about you and Steve every day since I've been gone. And I've been miserable since it happened. So don't you go accusing me of anything." Xavier managed to keep his voice even, and he resisted the temptation to yell back at Tiffany. But she didn't care about that, because out of the corner of his eye, Xavier saw her right hand coming towards the side of his face, but he was frozen, and the impact was loud enough that Harry and Ron could hear it from the other end of the hallway.

"Bloody hell…" Ron whispered to Harry "Xavier's gotten himself into a bit of a jam. And that new girl sure packs a punch."

"Maybe I kinda deserved that." Xavier said softly as he brought his hand up to where Tiffany had slapped him. "I have one question for you…" he said to her as he began to turn away. "Did you come all the way here just to do that, or do you still care for me at all?"

"How amazingly stupid you can be Xavier Matthew Dalton!" Tiffany said with a hint of annoyance. "You leave everyone and everything, and expect me not to be mad at you. You show guts everywhere except when it mattered most, when I needed you there with me the most. And what do you do? You leave! I don't know what to say to you right now!"

"So now you hate me?" Xavier asked, his heart breaking and his voice quavering as he spoke. "Alright, I'll just be going then. See you around" Xavier started to walk away when she grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around, so that his face was inches from hers. Xavier saw the tears in her eyes, and it was probably the worst possible thing that he could see. He had the feeling in his stomach like he had just been hit with a hammer.

"If I hated you, do you think that I would have gone through all this effort just to follow you?" She laughed, and Xavier felt that maybe he still had a chance to make things right.

"With your temper, I really wouldn't know." Xavier laughed, and he saw a smile come across her face for the first time since before he had told her that he was leaving. "You know…" he said, "You look much more beautiful when you're smiling." And before he knew it, Tiffany fell into his arms, and he just held her as she started sobbing into his shirt. It was all he could do because Xavier had no idea what to say, so he just stood there and held her close and stroked her hair. He didn't know how to feel. Because Tiffany had clearly been through a tough period in her life, and that it was partially his fault he felt sad and guilty. But since she was back with him, Xavier felt like nothing could ever go wrong for him again.

"Well, that may have been the weirdest thing I have ever seen, Xavier." About an hour had passed, and after a lengthy talk with his girlfriend, Xavier had gone up to the dormitory, where Ron, Harry, and his other roommates were waiting for him.

"What are you talking about?" Xavier had no idea that Harry and Ron had heard and seen the events of the last half an hour.

"All I'm going to say is that I know why the left side of your face has a red handprint on it..." Ron said and the entire room burst into laughter as the right side of Xavier's face grew red enough to match the left side.

"I don't think that you could have gotten away with what I did though. I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world..." Xavier realized that no one in the room would really know what he meant, and so he covered it up with a laugh to make it seem like a joke.

"Xavier, these are our fellow fifth year Gryffindors, well the boys at least." Harry said looking at Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan and Neville. "Xavier Dalton, meet Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom." Xavier shook each boy's hand in turn, and then he was asked to tell them all about his life in the States, and also what he thought of England so far. Xavier told them almost everything about himself. He told them about his school, his former Quiddtich career, he tried to explain the sports of American football and baseball to them without much success, and he told them all about American culture. He also told them that he liked England so far, except for the weather, and the fact that it rained more in England and Scotland than it did in Los Angeles or Boston.

"Wow." Dean said after Xavier was done talking. Everyone in the room, except Harry, who had heard most of the story before, was listening intently for nearly an hour. "But you didn't answer my last question. If you were so happy in the United States, and it sounds like you were, then why did you come here to Hogwarts?"

Xavier wasn't ready to tell them the true story of why he left the U.S. In fact, he had always dodged the question whenever Harry had asked him. Xavier hadn't actually told anyone the full story yet, and with the exception of one very important person, everyone else that knew the full sequence of events was still in the United States. Xavier had even told his uncle a few small lies while he was staying in Surrey. "I felt like I needed a change." Xavier said quickly. "And right now I also need to go to bed. Classes start early tomorrow morning." As soon as Xavier mentioned classes, Harry knew something was wrong. From the time he had spent with his new friend, Harry knew that Xavier wasn't the most studious individual. Harry realized that Xavier was hiding something from his past, and this brought back bad memories, as the thoughts of someone else's bad past brought the death of Cedric Diggory vividly back into Harry's mind. As the rest of Gryffindor tower slowly drifted asleep, two fifth year boys were up nearly all night dealing with their own personal demons.

Xavier opened his eyes and noticed that none of his roommates were left in the room. Pulling his watch off of his nightstand, Xavier noticed that it was 7:55. Xavier swore out loud. He was supposed to be down at breakfast at 8:00. And it wasn't like Xavier exactly knew where he was going either. Pulling on his robes quickly, Xavier couldn't help but frown at his reflection in the mirror. While a school uniform made getting dressed quickly easy, it also made all of the nice shirts and pants that Xavier had packed in his trunk a complete waste. Xavier washed his face and brushed his teeth in nearly record time, grabbed his bookbag, and ran out of the room and down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. Xavier hoped that there was someone down there that he could talk to and hopefully get directions to the Great Hall. So when Xavier saw a brown bushy head of hair and a red-headed girl walking out of the portrait together, he smiled. Xavier knew that it was Hermione and Ginny, and they would be happy to help him out. Xavier jumped down the last few stairs, leaped a scarlet couch and slid out of the portrait door before it closed behind the two girls.

"Good morning Ginny. Good morning Hermione." Xavier said with a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, Xavier." They answered. "You look like you're in a hurry." Ginny added.

"That I am." Xavier responded. "You see. I got myself in a bit of a jam. I have to be down at breakfast in five minutes and I have no idea how to get back to the hall. And so I was wondering if you ladies could give me the fastest way there?" Hermione then proceeded to give Xavier the fastest way she could.

"That's the quickest way without using any secret passages. I don't know those, that's Harry and Ron's expertise." Hermione finished.

"Secret passages?" Xavier asked with his smile now replaced with a look of shock. "Cool. But I have to go. I will see you guys later." Xavier took off down the corridor, having no idea what the first day as a student at Hogwarts held in store for him.

"You never change. Always at least two minutes late. At least." Xavier was out of breath and couldn't respond right away because he had ran from Gryffindor house to the Great Hall in a full sprint.

"Sorry, Tiff. I'm out of shape because I haven't been playing football. So I'm a little fat. And I can't run to places quite as fast when I'm late." Xavier was trying to lighten the mood a little because he hadn't had a chance to just hang out since he had arrived at school.

"Well, I'm glad that you haven't changed much. I was worried that you would be all depressed like you were before you left."

"To be honest, I was worse off than when I left for about a month. But then I realized that I can't change the past, and although I can still hate what happened, I have to accept it and move on. And I met a great new friend, and that's helped me to just be me again." Xavier was speaking from the heart, something that he rarely did. Most of the time, he was just trying to be funny or smooth, rather than just telling the truth. "Speaking of great new friends, here they come now." Xavier saw Harry and Ron walk into the hall over Tiffany's head, and Xavier motioned for them to come over to where he was sitting. "Harry, Ron, I'd like you to meet Tiffany Bellarose. Tiffany, these are my friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." Harry and Ron sat down, and they soon saw why Xavier was completely head over heels for her. Harry couldn't help but to feel a little envious of Xavier deep down. Although Harry thought that he had found a girl like Xavier had, Harry couldn't get Cho Chang to even notice him most of the time. Breakfast moved quickly, and soon Harry and Ron were joined by Hermione, Neville, Dean and Seamus. Professor McGonagall had also stopped to hand out schedules to each of them. With Xavier's, she gave him a basic lecture on how his classes were picked.

"I have you in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Care for Magical Creatures and Arithmancy." She started. "I looked at your grades from your previous education, and the tests you took with Professor Dumbledore, and I must say that you can do better with the talent you've been given. That aside, I, as your Head of House, have put you into the classes that are best for you. You may be a little behind in Care of Magical Creatures, but you should be on pace, or even ahead of the class in the other subjects. And Professor Hagrid will be more than willing to help you in his class if you are behind." As Professor McGonagall walked off, Xavier realized that it was time for his first class, Potions. Happily, he noticed that Gryffindors took all of their classes together, and Xavier walked off to Potions with Ron, Harry, Hermione and Tiffany, who had been given a similar lecture from the Professor. She was taking the same first six classes as Xavier, but was taking Ancient Runes instead of Arithmancy, and Divination instead of Care for Magical Creatures.

"So what's the Potions professor like?" Xavier asked the group. He was worried as soon as he saw the angry look on Harry's face, and the frowns that Hermione and Ron were showing.

"Well Professor Snape shows favoritism towards his house, which is Slytherin." Hermione started. "And since Gryffindor and Slytherin are rivals, the Professor can be a bit unpleasant towards us." And reflecting on that statement, Xavier walked into the Potions classroom, followed by the rest of the group. When Professor Snape walked in, the class was silent almost immediately. Xavier was sitting at a table with Tiffany and Neville, and their table was next to Harry's table, where he was sitting with Ron and Hermione.

"Welcome to fifth year Potions." Snape started as he looked out at the class. "For our two new students, I am Professor Snape, and I will be instructing you in the art of brewing potions." Xavier tuned out the rest of the lecture because he was busy looking closely at the Professor, and the looks of loathing that he often sent towards Harry. Xavier was trying to figure out why the professor could hate Harry like that when he heard Snape instruct the class to begin brewing the potion that was now written on the blackboard. Xavier read the instructions on the board and realized just how hard Potions with Professor Snape would be. Xavier had always been above average at Potions at his old school, but the potion on the board, the Draught of Living Death, would easily be the toughest brew he would have ever attempted. And he was doing it alone, not even having a partner to help him at all. Determined to make a good first impression, Xavier worked slowly and methodically as he could, making sure he did each step of the potion as well as he could. But he was moving too slow, and not only was he not going to finish, but since the timing of his ingredient adding was off, his potion was nearly bubbling out of the cauldron, and was hissing loudly. But it was at least giving off the correct silver vapor, so Xavier hoped that he would get out with a passing grade. He looked around the room, and noticed that he wasn't the only one who was having a tough time with the potion. Tiffany was glaring at her potion that was letting off thick purple smoke. Neville was covered in what looked to Xavier like wet cement. Ron was trying to stop coughing from the green vapor that his potion was letting off. And Harry had simply given up, looking at his incorrect potion with a defeated look on his face. But, Hermione's potion was nearly perfect, much to Xavier's surprise. He hadn't realized how skilled Hermione was as a witch, even though she had seemed smart from when he first met her. And then Xavier asked himself why the professor would give a potion that most people could simply not complete, and not even give them assistance with said potion. Xavier was never able to think of an answer because Snape told his class that time was up, and ordered everyone to put their potions into sample flasks so that he could grade them.

As soon as Professor Snape made a beeline through the classroom towards Harry, Xavier knew that something was up. Xavier pretended to be cleaning up his potions equipment as he watched the exchange between his friend and the professor.

"Potter, can you read?" Snape asked with an almost delighted scowl on his face.

"Yes, sir. I can read." Harry answered.

"Very well, can you read line three for me then?" Harry squinted through the various colored smoke, and Xavier watched Harry's face fall, and heard him mumble,

"I forgot the hellbore, sir."

"I know you did, Potter. And this makes this mess worthless. _Evanesco_." Snape waved his wand, and Harry's potion disappeared. Xavier shot a look to Ron, and received a look that indicated that this was almost a normal interaction between Harry and the potions professor. Xavier couldn't believe it. Sure, Harry had messed up the potion. But most of the class had done even worse, and yet Harry was the only one that would be getting a zero for the day's grade.

"Damn, that may be the most unfair thing I've ever seen a teacher do." Xavier mumbled under his breath, but Snape was too close. The professor walked over to Xavier's cauldron and leaned against the edge, and his black eyes attempted to stare down Xavier's deep blue ones.

"Mr. Dalton, I would suggest you take back what you said." Snape was almost daring Xavier to challenge his authority with the tone of voice he used, and Xavier took the bait.

"Now why would I do that?" As soon as he said this, Xavier noticed a number of things at once. Tiffany put her hand on his shoulder, trying to prevent the blowup that she knew was coming. Out of the corner of his eye, Xavier noticed the looks that Harry and Ron were sending him, trying to get him to stop talking. And lastly, the entire class went silent, everyone watching what would happen to Xavier. No one in Gryffindor house, or any house for that matter, had ever dared to stand up to Professor Snape. Not at least in the memories of the fifth years that were watching in the potions classroom.

"Because that would be the smart thing to do. That's the problem with you Gryffindors. You think with your hearts, rather than your brains." Snape responded condescendingly.

"He's trying to bait you." A voice in Xavier's head was saying. "For once, please think before you say something really stupid."

"Professor Snape. Let me ask you something." Xavier started talking out loud again. " Just why do you have it in for Harry?"

"Because Potter thinks that his fame will get him through life, and he is arrogant, and has subpar talent, but yet thinks that just since he is a great Quidditch player, people should just bow down to him." Xavier was really confused at this point. He had no idea what Snape meant when he said that Harry was famous. But Xavier also knew that Harry wasn't arrogant, and the fact that Snape would say this for no reason made him angrier than he already was.

"Well, I think that you're just jealous of Harry. You don't seem like the type that was too popular back in school." As soon as this last part slipped out, Xavier knew that he had struck a nerve with the man staring at him, a look of pure anger, loathing and hate being sent his way.

"Detention tonight with me. Eight o' clock. Your attitude is worse than Potter's. And you won't be able to take over this school with a couple jokes, and unwarranted confidence. Now get out of my sight." Not needing another excuse to leave, Xavier grabbed his bag off of the table and walked out of the room, even daring to stare down Snape as he left.

Two steps out of the Potions classroom, Xavier's anger wore off, and he felt really stupid. He had made a really great first impression for his classmates and his first new teacher. And he had detention on the first night of classes. Just how he wanted to be spending his night.

"Did you really have to do that? Now that's one teacher that hates you already. Sure it's good to watch out for your friends, but Xavier you also need to look out for yourself sometimes. And for me too, which you don't always do the best job of." Xavier's stomach fell through the floor as Tiffany ran up to his side. And Xavier couldn't think of anything to say, so they just walked in silence to their next class, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts, with Professor Umbridge.


	5. Adjustments and Changes

**Chapter Five: Adjustments and Changes**

Two weeks into the school year, Xavier was beginning to realize just how difficult adjusting to a new school was going to be. He missed his friends, especially James and Scott, who Xavier had not heard from since before he left for school. And he also missed playing football. Xavier would often go down to the Quidditch pitch and charm footballs to play catch with, but it just wasn't the same for him as practice with the team. And he missed the games even more than the practices. The crowd cheering for him as he ran down the field dodging tackles and picking up yards. The thrill of a hard fought victory. Xavier even missed Coach Fisher yelling in his ear every time he made a mistake. Xavier was also trying to adjust to the difficulty of his new classes. In the past, Xavier could just rely on intelligence and talent to get above average grades, but he quickly learned that Professors McGonagall and Snape wouldn't let him succeed that easily. In fact, Xavier thought that his new instructors in Potions and Transfiguration were actually grading him harder because they wanted him to work harder than he ever had before. And it was working, but Xavier didn't mind that much, because he knew that he was learning more than he had ever before. And since he wasn't playing football, he had the time to study. Xavier's favorite class was Charms through the first two weeks, because the material was easy for him, and he liked the diminutive Professor Flitwick as well.

The other thing that Xavier was really struggling with was his personal relationships. Outside of Gryffindor house, most of the students in the school did not like him very much. And after he attempted to pick a fight with Draco Malfoy the first time they met, the entire house of Slytherin hated him. Although Xavier didn't care for any of the Slytherins anyway, it still was an adjustment to have people dislike him as deeply as Malfoy did. The boy would shout insults every time he saw Xavier, and every time Xavier would struggle not to beat the pulp out of Malfoy. Adding to Xavier's misery was the fact that the one person that he had counted on was unusually cold towards him. Tiffany hadn't said anything about breaking up with him, but she always made excuses whenever Xavier wanted to spend time outside class with her. And it was starting to really get to him because she had never blown him off like that before. Xavier wanted the chance to talk to her and get to the bottom of that particular mystery, but Tiffany hadn't let him.

"Hey Hermione, where's Tiffany?" Xavier asked his friend as the last of the Gryffindor girls left their dorm. Xavier had been sitting up all night near the fire, just thinking about his life, and the choices that he had made, and as a result, had watched everyone leave the dorm one by one from his spot on one of the soft chairs by the fire.

"She's not going to classes today. I think she has the flu." Hermione responded with a look of concern on her face before she left the room. Xavier was happy that Tiffany had fit in fairly well with the girls in her house. Her best friend in fact was Ginny Weasley, which Xavier thought was interesting because they both had fiery tempers when provoked.

As soon as Hermione left the room, Xavier came up with an excellent idea. Grabbing his warm-up jacket off the table, he dashed out of the room, and headed to the secret entrance to the kitchens that Harry and Ron had shown him when they gave him a detailed tour of the school during their first week back. When Xavier reached the entrance painting, he rubbed the pear on the portrait like Harry showed him, and the frame sprung open to reveal a small door, which Xavier stepped through, careful to not hit his head on the roof. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the kitchen, Xavier heard the high squeaky voices of numerous house elves, asking him what he would desire.

"Um… hi. I'm Xavier, and I just wanted to know if I could possibly pick up two mugs of hot chocolate for a friend of mine who is sick and missed breakfast. And something small to eat for her would be excellent too, please." What Xavier did not realize that house elves didn't understand the concept of small when dealing with food, as he quickly learned when three of the small, but kindly, creatures handed him a massive plate of pastries and another handed him two large, steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Thanking the house elves as he backed out of the kitchen, Xavier put a quick spell on the tray, and carried the two mugs back to the Gryffindor common room. Xavier crept up the stairs to the girls dorms, and knocked on the door of Tiffany's room. Hearing a muffled response, Xavier creaked the door open, and quietly walked into the room.

"Xavier, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Tiffany said weakly, and she sounded like she had a terrible cold.

"I brought you something to eat and something to drink, and I am going to stay here all morning and take care of you." Xavier said with a look of determination on his face, and he put one of the mugs of hot chocolate on her nightstand, along with two of the pastries.

"Why are you doing this? It's really nice of you, but I've been ignoring you for the past two weeks…" Tiffany sat up and took a long sip of her hot chocolate.

"Because I would do anything for you, no matter what. That's part of what love is, isn't it?" Xavier looked away as he said this, he was finally telling her part of the truth of how much she meant to him, and Xavier was scared to put his feelings out into the open.

"Then why did you leave me, when I needed you the most?" She asked him, and Xavier had no idea how to answer the question without sounding terrible, so he sat in silence for a few moments before finally responding.

"I was guilty, I was scared, I couldn't handle it. But most of all, I knew that I had let you down. You're so great, and I failed miserably. I didn't want to deal with you breaking up with me, so I left before you could." Tiffany looked into Xavier's face as he was struggling to keep his emotions in control, and shook her head.

"You are one of the dumbest people I have ever met… Well at least at least at reading people. What you just said, I have been waiting to hear since I got here. And that is why I came all this way…"

"So I could tell you how much of a loser I am?" Xavier was really confused, and he didn't get what he had done to make her so happy, but he didn't really care.

"No, not that. It was that you finally told me how you felt about me, and you finally told me the truth behind your decision to leave. And I can finally forgive you for it…"

Xavier sat down on the bed next to his girlfriend and he realized now why she had been avoiding him for the entire school year.

"So, are you ready to be my girlfriend again?" Xavier asked hopefully.

"I think so… At least once I get better enough to get out of bed." Tiffany tilted her head up towards Xavier and he looked down, and he kissed her. It was the best kiss that he had ever been a part of. It was like that all the hardships that he had gone through since Steve's accident just melted away in the moment, and Xavier thought that he could possibly be the luckiest man alive. After a few minutes, they both released, needing oxygen. "And that's the other reason why I followed you. You're such a great kisser." Tiffany smiled, and Xavier couldn't help but laugh.

"Tiffany? Are you feeling? And who else is in there?" Tiffany and Xavier could hear the familiar voice of Ginny Weasley coming from outside of the door.

"I'll let her in…" Xavier whispered and he jumped off the bed and walked over to the door, and let Xavier in. Ginny looked at Xavier, asking him with her eyes why he was here, in the girls dorms. And then she looked at the smile on Tiffany's face, and figured everything out rather quickly.

"Wait… So the boyfriend from back home you mentioned, the one who left you at a really bad time when you really needed him… That's Xavier?"

"Yeah, pretty much…" Xavier and Tiffany answered simultaneously. "Hey, Ginny… what time is it? And no need to rub the fact I really screwed up in my face or anything…"

"It's about one. Lunch just ended. Why?"

"Because I have to help your brother out with something at one fifteen. Thanks. I gotta run, so ill see you later Tiffany." Xavier kissed her lightly on the lips before heading back to his dorm to grab what he needed to help Ron.

The night before, Xavier had been sitting alone by the dying fire when Ron had come in around midnight soaking wet, and holding his broom. As soon as Xavier saw Ron, he knew that his friend was going to try to make the Quidditch team as a keeper. Ron always talked about Quidditch, and Harry had mentioned to him that the only position open on the team for this year was Keeper. So when Ron knew that his secret was out, he asked Xavier to help him practice for the tryouts. And since he missed flying, and playing sports, Xavier agreed to help him.

And as soon as he stepped on to the Quidditch pitch, Xavier knew that it was finally time to get over his recent fear of Quidditch and flying. Ron had not arrived yet, so Xavier decided to take a few laps around the field before his friend showed up. Xavier mounted his broom and took off, and immediately, Xavier knew that it had been stupid of him to avoid flying. And at the same time, he was a little frustrated that he couldn't play Quidditch until next year. But with the wind flying through his hair, he felt free of all the pressures and stresses on him. After a few minutes of flying, Xavier heard Ron calling him down.

"Blimey, you can really fly. So are you ready to fire shots at me that I may or may not save." Ron asked with a somewhat nervous look on his face.

"No I am not. I am ready to fire shots at you that you _will _save." Xavier took off holding the Quaffle, and Ron followed and headed towards one of the sets of goal hoops. Xavier and Ron were up in the air for nearly two hours, Xavier showing Ron nearly every Chaser move that he had ever learned, and how to stop them, starting with the easiest and ending with the hardest. Ron had known about half of them, but he was still somewhat overwhelmed with the speed and accuracy that Xavier could put on his shots from anywhere in the scoring area. Still, Ron saved about half of Xavier's shots, and when they landed after Ron saved the final shot, Xavier was smiling. It was a combination of pride in Ron's abilities, and also the fact that he was happy that he could play Quidditch again.

"You are going to make the team this year, I can guarantee it." Xavier was fumbling through his jacket pocket as he said this, and Ron couldn't help but be skeptical about this prediction. "Here, let me show you something…" Xavier flipped Ron a large medal, and Ron couldn't help but look at his Most Valuable Chaser's medal with a look of shock.

"But… But… But… why aren't you playing this year? I'm sure that you could beat out any of the Chasers this year."

"Because Harry told me that they've been playing together since his first year. And if I took a spot, that would destroy their team chemistry. And I know how important in a Chaser group. And plus, I didn't really want to play this year anyway, but maybe I'll play next year.

"What was the save percentage on your shots last year?" Ron asked. He was hoping that it was less than half.

"32.5" Xavier answered without hesitation. One of the things that no one knew about Xavier was that he had nearly every important statistic of his Quidditch and football careers memorized. For example, Xavier could tell you in a second that he had 256 carries in the last football season for 1576 yards and 21 touchdowns, for a 6.1 yards per carry average. And that he also had 68 receptions for 712 yards and another 7 touchdowns for 10.5 yards per reception average.

"So I saved more shots than the Keepers you faced throughout the tournament?"

"Yep, that's true."

"Are you going to come watch me try out tomorrow?"

"Of course I am. You'll make the team with no problems if you play like you did today" Xavier answered, and they walked off the pitch together to get some of their piling homework done before dinner.

The next day, Xavier was sitting in the stands with Hermione and Ginny, watching each keeper tryout and making comments to Ginny, who most of the time would agree with his observations. Xavier was quickly impressed with how much Ginny knew about the sport, but she said that she had been listening to her brothers talk about it for years, and that she enjoyed to fly herself. She also said that she was trying out for one of the other two open Chaser positions in the next year. Hermione was attempting to understand just the basics of the game, and Ginny was trying to explain the basics as Xavier kept his eyes on the pitch.

"Ron's up." Xavier said, and Hermione and Ginny immediately turned their heads to the pitch, and watched Ron attempt to save ten shots from the various Chasers. Ron saved the first three, missed the fourth and fifth, and then saved the next five in a row.

"That ties him for the lead for one of the girls who had tried out." Xavier said. "And he looks good out there. Very nervous, but he has great form, and good instincts."

After the rest of the keepers tried out, and no one had reached the total of eight that Ron had, the team had a quick huddle, and announced that since the other girl took her Charms club as a more important responsibility, Ron would be the new Gryffindor keeper.

"How did Ron do?" Xavier had snuck back up to the Gryffindor common room before the rest of the people who were watching the tryout. Tiffany had been sitting on one of the couches, working on a Transfiguration essay. She was feeling better, and wanted to watch the tryout, but she had a lot of homework to catch up on since she had been sick for a couple of days and had not gone to class.

"He was good, really good. He is really nervous out there, which could be a problem in the games, but he can only get better. And he made the team. He was the best on the field, so he's going to do fine." Xavier didn't want to mention the fact that Ron had nearly fainted after his first missed save.

"That's good… quick question, what is the fifth exception to Gamp's Law?" Xavier scanned Tiffany's work, and saw that she had four of the five described perfectly.

"Ummm… I don't know… Let me think about it…" Xavier was trying to remember what Professor McGonagall had taught them on the previous day. "Oh… Hold on… I think it's…" And then he remembered Ron being angry about not being able to conjure food at any moment when the Professor was going through the exceptions. "It's food. You cannot make food unless you have some quantity of the food to start with."

"Thanks, X. You've really been taking more care to pay attention in class more this year. Are you starting to grow up?"

"Nahh…" Xavier said with a grin. "It's just that the teachers here make me work harder than the ones back home."

That night, Xavier was attempting to finish a potions essay that was due the next day. It was approaching midnight, and he still had six inches of parchment left to fill. And he was writing as big as he dared, because Snape didn't let Xavier get away with anything in his class. As he sat trying to figure out something to add to his essay on the properties of ordinary kitchen spices, and how the seemingly boring kitchen ingredients could be used in potion making, Xavier heard someone come in through the door.

"You're still up? Are you as far behind as I am?" Harry walked in through the door looking tired and stressed out.

"I don't think that I am as far behind as you are, but I'm getting there."

"These detentions with Professor Umbridge are killing me…" Harry sighed.

"Then stop antagonizing her. As evil of a woman as she is. And that's coming from me…" Xavier couldn't believe that he was actually telling someone else to control their temper.

"And how many fights with Malfoy have I had to keep you out of this year? At least five that I can think of off the top of my head."

"Can you just let me punch him once, then I'll never try to fight him, I promise." Xavier tried to keep a straight face as he asked with his best puppy dog eyes.

"Do you really expect that to work on me? Honestly… That might work on Tiffany or Hermione or Ginny, but not on me…" Harry tried to glare at Xavier, but instead ended up laughing at the fact that his friend was trying to let him fight someone else by giving Harry the puppy dog eyes. It was one of the most ridiculous things that Harry had ever seen. The fact was that Harry was jealous of the puppy dog eye skills that his friend had. He could get Hermione to help him on any homework assignment with them, something that neither Harry nor Ron could do.

"Hey, it really didn't hurt to try, right? And now sit down and help me out on this potions essay, and that way we can both get to bed quicker." Harry and Xavier spent the next thirty minutes focused on their essays, and eventually produced two passable copies, that is if Professor Snape was a fair teacher to either of them.

"You know Xavier, you seem more… I don't know… mature, I guess, since I first met you…"

"Well I had to be for Tiffany to take me back. And I learned from it. And thinking about leaving America and why I really did it. I learned from that too. But don't worry; I'm not going to be all boring and all focused on school or anything like that. In fact, I have decided that I am going to play Quidditch next year, even though I wasn't planning to when I got here."

"That's great. I'm sure that you'll make Chaser next year. And why did you leave America to come here? I know you haven't told me in the past, but I thought I'd ask."

"I'm not ready to tell people here yet. It was a tough thing for me. But I promise that I will tell you when I'm ready to finally move on from it." Xavier looked down sadly. Although he was back to flying and playing Quidditch, he still wasn't ready to tell someone what happened to him and his former best friend.

"That's fine. Take your time with it. I kind of know where you're coming from with that…" Harry said, thinking of the fact that he had never told anybody about the abuse that he had faced at the hands of his aunt, uncle, and cousin during his childhood. They both sat there in silence, just thinking about what hurt them, and what they hadn't yet found the courage to talk about with someone.

"Hey, Harry. You look troubled. Want a drink?" Xavier had pulled out a bottle of whiskey and was in the process of pouring himself a glass that he had also pulled out of his bag.

"Is that a bottle of whiskey?" Harry asked with a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Yeah, its good stuff. And you'll forget your troubles with it. It works for me when I can't take it anymore." Xavier pulled a second glass out of his bag and poured it for Harry. Xavier downed his glass in one large gulp, and told Harry to do the same. Harry tried to, but the whiskey burned his throat and he gagged. Eventually, he managed to drink what Xavier had given him, and he immediately felt the warmth spreading through his body. And Harry also found that he wanted more because it made him feel better about everything he was dealing with, between his tragic past, and the current problems that he was having with Professor Umbridge, and the ever looming threat of Lord Voldemort. A third of the bottle later, Harry and Xavier were both lying on the floor, arguing whether or not the room was spinning, and soon they both fell asleep.

Both boys would seriously regret the fact that they hadn't gone to bed, and hidden their alcohol the next morning. Because the first two people down to the common room were Tiffany and Ginny, and they did not like what they saw.

"So, what do you have planned for today after classes, Tiff? Tiff? What's wrong?" Ginny didn't understand why her friend ran down the stairs without a word. Ginny chased after her and caught her at the bottom.

"Xavier and Harry are sleeping on the floor, and knowing my boyfriend I think I know why…" Tiffany ran over to Xavier and pulled him up into a seated position, and grabbed the bottle out of his hand and shook him awake.

"What's this?" Tiffany held the bottle of Jack Daniel's inches away from Xavier's face as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Ahhh, crap. I got nothing… Look… it's not what it looks like…" Xavier didn't see a way out of the situation, and he knew that Harry wasn't going to be able to help him.

"So… you aren't drinking large quantities of alcohol on a Thursday night and passing out? And you aren't going to be going to classes hung over today?"

"Uhh… so it is exactly what it looks like then. Can we do this later? My head is killing me, and I feel like I'm going to hurl." The mental war between wanting to kill her boyfriend for sheer idiocy, and caring for him because he was obviously a wreck was waging inside Tiffany's head. Meanwhile, Ginny was really taking it to Harry for his similar lack of judgment.

"Harry, explain to me why you would drink enough alcohol to make yourself pass out."

"I don't know. I felt great when I was doing it, and last night was pretty fun… But now I feel like a train hit me once in the head and once in the stomach…"

"Harry James Potter, I can't believe that you would do something like this. You shouldn't be drinking this much, hell you really shouldn't be drinking at all. You and Xavier really scared us when we saw you from the stairs… What if you two had really hurt yourselves…" Ginny looked away because she couldn't even consider if Harry had been worse off, and she wanted to hide the fact that she was almost crying from Harry. But Harry noticed, and he felt terrible.

"I'm sorry Ginny… I didn't know that you cared about me this much. It means a lot. And I'm sorry that I put you through that."

"It's okay, Harry. Just don't do it again. And if you ever need someone to talk to about anything, I'm here for you. Remember that instead of drinking next time. Please. Do that for me."

"I will, Ginny. And thanks a lot." Harry sat up, and eventually was able to get to his feet with Ginny's help. The two of them left for breakfast together, leaving Xavier alone to his fate with his furious girlfriend.

"You are so stupid, dumb, immature and irresponsible. Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm good looking, charming, funny, and athletic?" Xavier was hoping to salvage the situation.

"Just tell me why you did this, and promise me that you won't scare me like that again, and I'll let you get away with this. I'm still mad, but I want to help you more than I want to hate you."

"Because I need to get away from it all sometimes. My doubts, my failures, my guilt, the bad decisions I've made, sometimes I just need a break. And sometimes flying or football isn't enough of a break. And that's where the Jack Daniels comes in…"

"This is a regular occurrence!! Since when?"

"Since I was able to nick that bottle from my parents the night before I left. And since I learned how to do a refilling charm, I keep it filled for whenever I need it. But I've only drank that much like five or six times since I've been in England…"

"And you won't be doing it again…" Tiffany walked over to the window, and Xavier watched as she opened the window, poured every drop of whiskey out of the bottle, and then threw the bottle as far as she could out the window. Then she pulled Xaiver off his chair, and dragged him down to breakfast so he could pull himself together for the first class of the day.

Harry and Xavier had a real tough time getting through classes that day, but they appreciated the girls that had helped them stay out of trouble, and also had helped them realize that bottling up you emotions isn't the most healthy thing in the world.

_AN: After this chapter, and parts of the next one, the story will move through time faster. As always, reviews are appreciated. Thanks again for reading my story._


	6. The Beginnings of an Underground Defense

Chapter Six…

**Chapter Six: The Beginnings of an Underground Defense Group**

_AN: Yes, I know that it's been a really long time since my last update, and it wont take this long again. So here's Chapter Six…_

"Let me get this straight… Since Professor Umbridge is a terrible Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, you and Ron want to organize a study group to learn the material? I know why, but really? Who do you think is going to join this, and more importantly, if we are going to learn anything, we need some sort of teacher person. And I don't think any of the teachers here would help us…" Hermione and Ron, well mostly Hermione, were running the thought of a defense club by Xavier, who was reclining in a soft chair by the fire, finishing his Charms reading. Xavier thought it was a great idea, but he also knew that Hermione's plan was somewhat flawed. But Xavier had no idea what Hermione was about to say next, and what he was going to learn about his friends.

"I was thinking… that Harry could teach the group." Hermione responded and Xavier noticed a look on Ron's face that said he didn't like the idea, but Hermione had forced him to help her.

"Harry?! Sure he's a good guy, and most people seem to like him. Including me. But really, Hermione… I've never even seen him duel. Hell, I've never even seen him cast a spell. Why should he teach us? Not saying that I would be better, cause I definitely wouldn't, but…" Xavier's critique was cut off by Hermione, who asked,

"Harry hasn't told you about his adventures, has he? And about who he is?" This was partially a statement, and partially a question. Knowing her friend well, Hermione knew that Harry would be modest about his accomplishments, and try to hide them.

"Well he did tell me about how he watched someone die at the end of last school year, but that's about it…" Xavier didn't see how this made Harry qualified to lead a defense group.

"Xavier, have you ever heard of Voldemort?" At the mention of the name, Ron's face turned into a look of fear, and he let a small squeak loose.

"My uncle has mentioned him once or twice, and I've heard people talk about him. Most powerful dark wizard in a long time, since at least World War Two ended. And some one year old baby killed him, right?"

"Well Voldemort didn't actually die." Hermione corrected. "But yes, some one year old baby did stop him, and strip of him of all his powers. But Voldemort isn't gone anymore. And that baby, well that was Harry."

"Oh… wow…" Xavier could not believe that Harry had been the one to stop one of the greatest evil wizards of all time. "And he's not gone? But how come no one is doing anything to stop him?"

"Because the stupid government is hiding his return to prevent their approval ratings from dropping." Hermione answered bitterly.

"And what about these adventures that Harry has taken part in. I want to hear them because he never said anything about them."

Ron took over at this point. "In first year, Harry, Hermione and I made our way through a series of traps and puzzles to try and prevent one of Voldemort's men from stealing a Sorcerer's Stone. In second year, Harry and I entered a secret chamber of the school, and after he and I were separated by a rock slide, Harry fought a basilisk and killed it with a sword, and saved Ginny's life. In third year, Harry and Hermione saved Harry's godfather from being kissed from dementors, because he was wrongly charged with multiple murders. And last year, Harry won the Triwizard tournament, in which he beat three opponents who are three and four years older than him. And he also escaped from a resurrected He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And a couple of months ago, he and his cousin escaped a surprise dementor attack. So that's why Harry is qualified to teach our little study group."

"Shit, I never knew… Alright, I'm in. Cause I'm a little bored right now, and breaking a rule or two along the way never hurt anybody… Harry doesn't know about your little plan, does he?" Xavier was pretty sure that Harry wouldn't like being the center of attention like Hermione was trying to make him, but at the same time, Xavier knew the importance of learning defense because of what he had just learned about the return of Voldemort.

"I was planning on telling him if we all agreed that it would be a good plan." Hermione shot a look at Ron, daring him to disagree with her. He didn't, and Xavier smiled and said,

"As long as Harry's good with it, I'm in. But who else are we going to tell? It wouldn't just be the four of us, right?"

"Well, we need to be really careful with this obviously, so for now we aren't going to tell anyone until Harry approves, and then we will see from there."

A few days later, Xavier and Harry were working on a Potions essay when Ron and Hermione walked in. Well, Harry was writing, and Xavier was lying on the ground, talking to him about the material and throwing a football up in the air and catching it as it fell to the floor They sat down on one of the couches across from Harry, and Hermione pulled a small notebook out of her bag. Ron looked squeamish, and Xavier knew what Hermione was going to say before she even started.

"Harry, the three of us here had a great idea, and we wanted to see what you thought." Ron looked like he wanted no part of this idea, while Xavier couldn't help but laugh at the look Hermione was giving Ron. But Harry didn't even look up from his parchment.

"What's up?" Harry said. "What's your idea, Hermione."

"Well, since Umbridge is not teaching us anything in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and that may be the most important thing we learn at school, especially now, we were thinking that we would form a study group to learn the skills and the spells ourselves."

"Alright, that seems like a good idea. But who would teach us? Lupin could do it maybe. Or McGonagall. Or maybe even Dumbledore. But I don't know."

"We weren't thinking about having any teachers or former teachers leading us. We were thinking about you teaching the group, Harry." Hermione said, and Harry laughed.

"Me? Me teach? Are you serious, Hermione? If any of the students should teach, it would be you, not me."

"But you are the best in the year at Defense." Hermione argued.

"But I'm not qualified."

"Blimey, Hermione." Ron interrupted the argument. "I don't think that I want someone this thick teaching us Defense… I already gave Xavier the speech on all the things you've escaped from and defeated a few days ago, and I don't feel like doing it again, but I think you're qualified." Ron said with a smile. Harry knew that Ron either agreed with Hermione, or didn't dare disagree with her and face her wrath, or worse, not have her invaluable homework help. Harry hated the idea of teaching because he wasn't sure if he could do it well, and he also didn't like to be the center of attention like that, with everyone watching him, and following his lead. That was more Xavier's cup of tea, to be surrounded with all eyes on him. Harry looked at Xavier, hoping that he wouldn't agree with his other two friends, and would support him if he chose not to teach the group.

"Are you in on this?" Harry asked Xavier.

"Only if you are. But personally, I'm looking for a little fun and a little adventure, so I like the idea. And, I might actually learn something too, which wouldn't be too terrible I guess."

"Well, alright. I'll do it, I guess. But how are we going to keep this secret. And who are we going to let into our little group?"

"Well, we are going to have to let Tiffany in. Or she'll kill me." Ron and Harry laughed at Xavier, and the fact that he was actually scared of his girlfriend.

"And we will tell Ginny, Fred and George. And Neville, Dean, and Seamus."

"And Luna. Don't forget her." Harry added to Ron's small list. "And anyone else that wants to join that we know that we can trust."

"Don't forget Cho, Harry. You better invite her." Harry's face turned bright red, and he mumbled some curses at Xavier, and Hermione glared at Xavier, but Ron was laughing at the entire situation.

"Tiff, can you come here for a second, I have something important to tell you." Xavier walked into the common room later that night, and motioned Tiffany over to a small table in the corner with two chairs surrounding it. They sat down and Xavier realized that he might have not been telling her about his plans the right way.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione have come up with an idea that they asked me to help them with. You see, since the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year isn't actually teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were thinking that we would start our own study group to learn the material, because we are going to need it in the real world. And I was wondering if you wanted to be a part of it."

"And the reason that you guys are keeping this secretive is because you don't think that it will exactly be seen as following the rules by some of the faculty." Tiffany noted.

"Pretty much." Xavier answered, and Tiffany frowned.

"Have you guys thought this through? Like who is going to supervise the group, and more importantly, where are you going to meet, if you are trying so hard to keep this secret?"

"Ehhh…" Xavier hadn't even thought about where they were going to meet. He had just assumed that Harry or Ron had picked a good place, but they hadn't yet mentioned anything to him. "Well, Harry is going to lead the group. Cause he's done some crazy bad-ass shit in the last fifteen years." Tiffany smiled at this. She had known about all of Harry's adventures from Ginny, so she knew why Harry was a good choice to lead the group. "And about the place, I don't know… Harry or Ron will be able to find a place. Or they probably already did, and just haven't mentioned it to me yet."

"Just be careful, because if you get in serious trouble over this…"

"You'll kill me, yeah I know. I'm actually surprised that I'm not already dead at this point… So, I guess you won't be joining us then, even though you're one of the select few that we've told about this so far." Xavier was a bit disappointed by this. He wanted his girlfriend to join the group, but he wasn't surprised that she did not. She had always been a bit of a moral conscience for him, not letting him stray too far over the lines that were laid out by the rules of their old school. She did break rules occasionally, but never to the degree that Xavier and his friends did. Xavier and Steve had spent a good amount of time in detention together, mostly for missing curfew, or trying to sneak off campus to spend some time in the city of Los Angeles.

"Why should I, I don't really see the need to learn how to defend ourselves in school that badly. We can learn in the coming years, and I don't want to get in trouble for it now." Xavier was tempted to tell Tiffany everything that he had discovered about Lord Voldemort's return in June, but he didn't want to scare her or make her any more stressed out than she already was. So he just decided that he was going to teach her everything he learned from Harry himself.

"You don't have to join us, but I really do want you to learn the stuff, so if I pick up anything really important, I'm going to teach it to you myself, alright?"

"Sure… you really care about this, don't you?"

"I just want you to be safe, that's all." Xavier answered truthfully.

"Aww, that's sweet." Laughing at Xavier's disgusted face at being called sweet, Tiffany stood up and walked over to her boyfriend. 'Well, I'm going to bed. Good night Xavier." Xavier kissed her goodnight, and he then pulled a newspaper out of his book bag that his father had owled him, updating him on the sports world in America. The Boston Red Sox were two games ahead of the New York Yankees with ten games left in the regular season, and the Sox had won nine of their last ten games. Xavier put the paper down, and smiled. He was looking forward to going to the wizarding village near the school in three days. Xavier had been told about all the things there by Ron and Harry, and he was planning on spending the entire day with Tiffany, and he was happy that they could finally go on a date now that they were back together.

"Xavier, the first meeting of our defense club is going to be tomorrow in the Hog's Head pub during the Hogsmeade outing at two in the afternoon." Harry cornered Xavier as he was leaving the common room.

"Damn, Harry. I was planning on spending the whole day…" Xavier was not happy with this development. He was sure that this was going to kill his plans, and that his girlfriend might actually murder him this time.

"Well, bring her then…" Harry really didn't feel like dealing with his friend's romantic issues. He knew that Xavier had felt bad about leaving her a few months earlier, and as a result, now pretty did whatever she wanted him to do. But Harry was always just a bit jealous of the fact that Xavier had gotten his girl, and yet Cho barely noticed him.

"Alright, I will… See you tomorrow at two then, cause we're leaving early tomorrow morning."

"What? I thought we were going to spend the entire day together!" Xavier got the expected response the next morning when he told Tiffany about the meeting in the Hog's Head.

"Harry said that it was just going to be an informational session, and that it was only going to be like half an hour. And Harry also said that you were invited as well, so…"

"Why do I put up with you?"

"I really don't know. But I'm damn lucky that you do… So where do you want to go first? Honeydukes?" Xavier was trying to avoid too much trouble by changing the subject quickly, and to his surprise and joy, it actually worked.

"You're leading this little adventure. Because I really don't know anything around here."

"Alright then, we are off to Honeydukes." Xavier didn't feel the need to mention at this point that he had never actually been to the village before because he trusted Ron and Harry's directions to everywhere that he wanted to go. As Xavier and Tiffany walked down the main street hand in hand, Xavier couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the village in the fall. Leaves were blowing lightly through the road, colors swirling everywhere, the early morning sun shining down with no clouds in sight. Xavier looked left and right at the various stores in the village. He saw wizarding robes, dueling outfits, cauldrons, books, Quidditch supplies, brooms, potions ingredients, and a number of stores selling wizarding household items and gadgets. Since Xavier had only seen this many wizard stores in Diagon Alley, he was somewhat tempted to stop at almost every store that he walked by. But at the same time, he wanted to walk faster, just so that he could see all the stores and all the different sights that the village had to offer. It was an odd sort of feeling for Xavier, being pulled to do two completely different things. He also suspected that Tiffany was experiencing a similar reaction to the town, because Xavier did not even know if she had ever even been to Diagon Alley before. Eventually, the couple reached Honeydukes, and as Xavier grabbed the door, his girlfriend broke the lengthy silence.

"I think that may have been the longest that you have ever been silent in your entire life."

"Well, I was looking around and thinking about stuff, enjoying the scenery, you know…"

"What were you thinking about?" Xavier was stopped for a second by this question, but he quickly thought of a good answer that might help him gain some points that he would need because of the meeting later in the day.

"How beautiful you look today…"

"Really?"

"That wasn't actually what I was thinking about, but it's true though." Xavier said with a wide grin across his face.

"Haha. Very funny." But Tiffany wasn't laughing because she was pretty sure that something was troubling Xavier. "So what were you actually thinking about?"

"To be honest, I was thinking about whether I made the right decision by coming to England." At Tiffany's curious glance, he continued as the couple started to walk through the candy store, picking out various treats that they both liked. "Well, there's no question that for me, Xavier Dalton, what I did was the right decision. But what I hadn't considered was the question of whether it was the right decision for everyone I care about. For my parents. For James and Scott. For Steve's parents and his sister. And, of course, for you. And that's the answer I don't know. I can't really ever know. But my feeling says that I made the wrong decision in their eyes." Xavier attempted to cover up his thoughts by picking up the nearest candy to him, and looking at it, noticed that it was a box of Blood Pops, and he couldn't help but say something. "Look! Blood Pops! I'm like a vampire! Awesome."

"You aren't going to get out of a very important conversation that easy, Xavier. And you're very right. You'll never know if you made the right decision for everyone else. I'm not even sure if you chose the path that would have made me the happiest. Maybe we both needed a fresh start. I'm not really sure. But the only thing that you can really look at is the future, and trying to be the best man you can be for everyone that you know, and especially yourself. You can't keep looking back. Cause there's nothing for you back there."

They both stood in silence for a moment, before Xavier finally broke the calm. "I think that may have been what I have needed to hear since June."

"Glad I could help you out."

"Now let's go pay for these boxes and head out to our next stop. As Tiffany reached into her purse to grab some coins, Xavier stopped her, and paid for his purchases as well as hers at the register, and they both walked out of the store with the widest smiles that either of them had worn in a long time.

"Thanks. That was very nice of you."

"Thank my parents. They gave me an obscene amount of money for the year. So the least I can do is treat my girl to some candy. Now let's head to the Three Broomsticks for a drink. Harry says they have the best butterbeer."

Xavier and Tiffany both agreed that they would have to make frequent visits to the comfortable pub soon after they left. The butterbeer was great, just like Harry had said. The food was delicious. And the service was excellent. Xavier had picked up the tab again, and yet, he hadn't even put a dent in the amount of money he had left for the year. He looked at his watch.

"1:15. Forty-five minutes until my little meeting. That's plenty of time for a little bit of a walk before we get there."

Xavier and Tiffany continued to walk down the cobblestone street. As they walked, Tiffany would often stop and admire something in a window; a set of really nice robes, or a fine piece of jewelry. And everything that she looked at, Xavier filed away in his mind. He was looking for the perfect birthday present for her, even though he had nearly a month until the actual day. He was planning on sneaking out of the school, so he didn't have to worry about buying her anything while they were out of the school. And they eventually reached the dingy Hog's Head pub. Xavier walked in and noticed that they weren't the first ones there. By the look of it, there were a lot more people than he expected to be there. He saw Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley, Cho Chang, and about ten more people that he didn't really know. Tiffany led him over to two open chairs next to Ginny and they sat down. Xavier then noticed that Harry and Ron hadn't arrived yet. They were the two people that were late to things almost as often as he was. And then Xavier noticed Hermione, who was impatiently tapping her feet, and continually glancing at the clock, which now read 2:01. Xavier tapped Hermione on the shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "You know, looking at the clock every five seconds won't get Harry and Ron here any faster." And before Hermione could respond, the door to the pub opened once more, and the two boys everyone had been waiting for stepped into the room. Xavier could tell from across the room that Harry was extremely nervous, and the fact that he was just a little late wasn't helping, because every single person had already arrived, and they were all staring at him. Ron sat down between Hermione and Xavier, and Harry pulled up a chair next to Ron, but did not sit. Instead he moved back into the center of the group and began to talk.

"Right… nice to see you all here… So, my friends and I…" Harry looked directly at Hermione. "decided that we have to learn to protect ourselves from what's waiting for us outside of school. That's because Lord Voldemort is back. I watched him come back from the dead myself. I watched one of his servants murder Cedric. Even though the Ministry refuses to admit it, we are all in grave danger."

"Well said, Harry!" Fred and George exclaimed.

"Not to mention that you also won the Triwizard tournament as a fourth year. That's something else you did." Cho added, and Xavier noticed that Harry's face turned a similar color to Ron's hair. Soon the entire room was quickly murmuring agreement that Harry was right.

"So, I was thinking that everyone here should sign a parchment, agreeing that they won't tell people that shouldn't be told about this little group." Hermione pulled a long sheet out of her bag, and passed it to Harry, who was the first one to sign it. Ron signed next, then Hermione, who passed it to Xavier. Xavier signed without hesitation, and handed it slowly to Tiffany, in order to give her time to make a decision on whether to commit to the contract. She took it hands shaking, looked at Xavier's signature, and wrote her name down slowly in elegant, flowing script. When she passed the paper along, Xavier gripped her hand under the table and whispered in her ear,

"Thanks. That means a lot to me. And I think that it means a lot to Ginny too." Tiffany gave him a small smile, telling him that it was alright. Soon the entire room had signed the parchment, and Harry concluded the quick meeting by telling everyone that he would alert them to when the first actual meeting was to take place.


End file.
